


Tourist

by meandmybrokenfeels



Series: NaNoWriMo 2016 One-Shot Collection [3]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Ficlet, M/M, One Shot, Paris (City), Songfic, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 23:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8466406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meandmybrokenfeels/pseuds/meandmybrokenfeels
Summary: Based on the song Tourist by Jon Cozart. Enjoy.





	

_At least I avoided cliché  
Holding nobody's hand along the Champs-Élysées_

Phil sat in a French café overlooking the bustling streets of Paris. The scene was picture-perfect: taxis and croissants and little shops selling much-too-expensive items. The only thing that seemed wrong was that one of the photo’s subjects appeared to be missing. The man alone at the table was clearly yearning for a certain someone to join him.

_Taking my time_  
_Breaking bread, sipping wine_  
_Meant for two_

He didn’t want to go back to the hotel yet. He knew what would be waiting for him in the room: a plate piled with bread and cheese, a wine bottle, two glasses. He didn’t think he could face the quiet emptiness; he preferred the noise of the city street. Phil paid his check and rose, deciding to take a stroll down the crowded sidewalk. If he had to go back eventually, he was taking the long way in getting there.

_It's a beautiful city for saps  
But turn out the lights, we're too clever for that_

The classic feel and aura of excitement endeared Phil to Paris instantly. Much as he tried to ignore it, the city had had a profound impact on him, and it would forever be remembered as the place to go when you suffered from a broken heart.

_And I know, I know we're not in love_  
_But we'd fool this old town_  
_With the view of us, thoughts from the tourist_  
_Alone_

They’d fooled everyone. They’d fooled him. How, after so many years, could be have been so outrageously wrong? He’d even gone so far as to plan a trip to Paris, the most romantic city in the world. Phil supposed it worked out well. He needed to get away, and he already had the plane ticket. He could run from that flat; he couldn’t run from his own mind. It wouldn’t let him rest, constantly torturing him with scenes from that horrid day. A word of advice: if your best friend spends years insisting that the two of you are not a couple, no matter how much you look like one, maybe you shouldn’t completely ruin the friendship by telling him your deepest and darkest secret.

_We could fall for the streets of Paris  
But the Eiffel's a joke and the punchline is me_

Phil paused in his walk and took a moment to stare up at the Eiffel Tower. He wanted to say that it was beautiful, that the lights illuminated hearts across the world. In actuality, he saw it and understood why the Parisians originally called it an eyesore. How was this triangle supposed to symbolise whimsical romance? It was just a bunch of steel. It really was a joke, and the punchline was Phil falling for it. 

_And you know, you know it's not funny_  
_But we'd laugh till it was_  
_Just the two of us, thoughts from the tourist_  
_Alone_

He missed Dan’s laugh. He missed Dan’s smile. He missed Dan, quite simply. As he continued down the darkened street, he remembered. The innumerable hours they’d spent laughing over everything and nothing together, on camera and off, in person and over skype. Dan could make anything funny. It was part of the reason why Phil loved him so much.

_And I know, I know that we tried  
To survive on a lie we couldn't endure_

The lie Phil had been telling was that he wasn’t in love with his best friend. The lie Dan told was that he hadn’t noticed. The one lie everyone thought they had been living, that the two were nothing more than friends, seemed to be the only thing they’d been telling the truth about.

_So what's just one more_  
_Thought from the tourist, imagining the two of us_  
_Alone?_

**Author's Note:**

> Today has been a day. This piece is shorter, and much more depressing, than either of the other two I've done so far this month. But hey, it's only the third. I could do so much worse.


End file.
